Summary:

I got RFB 0042 with a little luck for about $1600 back when the first RFBs were going for an average of twice that on Gun Broker. I was actually the first one on the KTOG forum to get one in hand. This was markedly different than anything that most anyone had ever seen and end user information was scant at best. All that seemed to matter was that I finally owned a real bull pup rifle and this baby was not in a wimpy caliber! The only thing I was not pleased with was the rifle being black, never good!

Jud Cargile with TAR21

It just so happens that I got addicted to suppressors a couple of years ago. It started when I bought an M82A1 in 2008 and I knew that I did not want to live with the muzzle blast from a round like that and picked up an AWC Turbodyne. I had a started to acquire some more suppressors down the line and decided to try out an appropriate one on the RFB when it came in. With a little workbench modification – I had it all set up. To my dismay, the suppressor used caused some overpressure and popped the adjustment cap, pin and spring from the rifle – this was all from the loosest setting; I made some adjustments and It did function fine when suppressed and Kel-Tec’s customer service sent me replacement parts within a few days. Subsequently, the original piston did break a few hundred rounds later and my rifle was upgraded with a longer piston for firing suppressed. Not long after getting the RFB, I had an Armalite SuperSASS that I had ordered arrive. I may have gotten a bit worked up and ordered quite a few things that were on my wishlist right after the 2008 election. At any rate, the political situation combined with my paranoia did facilitate and interesting result. The Armalite is a fine rifle in any body’s book. It is extraordinarily accurate and reliable. It is easily suppressed and it runs like a freaking sewing machine! What a perfect rifle to use as a reference toward the RFB!

I have no bones about personalizing my firearms. I collect for the utility and never intended to sell any of them unless something comes along that really fills its place in my vault; Other than the RFB and KSG, I have not seen many new designs on the table available for civilian use. The RFB is in my opinion is the best new rifle design on the market and is capable of filling most any role out there; However, it does not come out of the box ready to deploy. The most common problem is lack of reference for cheek to stock weld. A little time and digging around produced a pretty good cheek rest and I also had to improvise a stud for the bi pod. I added the Tijicon Accupoint 2.5-10×56 with the green triangle. The cheek rest needs no explanation, but to go a bit further on the bipod, I do prefer them over a sandbag as my shooting platform. I also like that I can get really good magnification with the Accupoint and fire off the cuff for sudden and close up engagements. When I purchased all this, I was working a lot of overtime and could have bought any scope I wanted (so I did). Hey brother, if you can count dots under fire, you are the man, I however, am not the man.

Cargile’s KelTec RFB

To the point, the RFB: I, like many others, waited and waited and waited for them to hit the shelves and it was no disappointment at all. The recoil unassisted is fairly short and straight back because of the extended reach of the bullpup design. There are alot of good muzzle brakes available and the cans today are getting better every week it seems. When you factor in the ease of handling and the excellent trigger of this rifle, the rate of fire is well above what you might initially imagine. I have used older lots of Gold Medal Match, Privy Partisan Match and hand loads all in 168gr weights. I have always gotten sub MOA accuracy from this rifle as did many others from KTOG. Some did not and since they could go sub MOA on other rifles they owned, they assumed it was the RFB. I have to say it is and it is not. The biggest factor is not having a solid reference on the stock and I am also biased against sand bags. The RFB is not your M14 or your Remington 700. You can not treat it like it is and that is the case simply put. Basic rifle marksmanship technique obviously is the other side of the coin. Some people know of it and some know how to do it.

This is collectively the fastest and most accurate rifle that I have ever owned, the SASS just is not as comfortable to me as a battle rifle. The hardest thing about the RFB is developing a routine for checking the chamber area; But, a slightly modified drill of SPORTS is all you really need. The rail is too short for iron sights, carry a back up reflex sight or Eotech with 7.62 BDR. I would love to have one of these in 6mm Creedmore; Other than that, if a unit ever decides to field these rifles and provide the customary logistics, as some have for FN’s similiar design, game on!

"Hey brother, if you can count dots under fire, you are the man, I however, am not the man."

Heh, well said. I've got a Trijicon 1-4 (green triangle) on mine. Don't really miss the extra magnification considering I don't intend to use it as a sniper rifle. Which Can did you end up going with? I'm starting to get suppressor fever myself.